“The protesters don’t want to reach out to the company because they never take it seriously,” a Foodpanda rider told KrASIA.

The full rollout may take three to five years, but the Bank of Thailand expects demand for the e-baht to surge over time.

With the crypto industry riding on tailwinds, local exchanges have joined the fray.

Thailand has similar agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Singapore.

Experts predict the Chinese e-yuan to be available nationwide after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Across Asia, other nations are also developing their own CBDCs.

Binance faces potentially hefty financial penalties in Thailand, and the company’s staff could be jailed.

Southeast Asia is one of the most rapidly digitalizing regions in the world, with 70% of the region’s population online in 2020, according to the report.

With the latest acquisition, AirAsia is set to “turbocharge” its ambition to become “a leading ASEAN challenger super app,” said the group CEO.